DragonBlooded
by malkavsdevoted
Summary: In the Hidden Village of Sound the dragon's blood stirs under Orochimaru's guiding hand but will the outcome be who or what he expects? If you like the story please review.
1. A Leaf Fallen Far From The Tree

Dragon-blooded.

That is what he called me that day in Oto Village. A benediction spoken whilst facing an eight year old boy determined to protect a family whose eyes would never open. A boy who did not understand the import of those words.

That man was Orochimaru, one of the Hidden Leaf's Legendary Sannin and shinobi of unmatched skill. He had come in search of Kikurame ninja to join his cause. To find a village to become his Hidden Sound.

He found me, Kikurame Naota, the only survivor of a demon's attack and the ruins of the independent shinobi village of Oto. A devil's deal was struck that day bargaining for my heritage and the future. Which is why I have spent the last six years learning ninpo from Nakano-sensei. Surveilance, infiltration, tactics, taijutsu, and chakra channeling as well as the optional areas of medicine and herbalism.

Each and every day is spent in the mastery of these arts. Orochimaru made a deal and I will not disappoint him or myself. One day I **will** surpass Kimimaro and reclaim my heritage.

Which brings me to today and the genin exam.

Mother...Father watch over me.

- An excerpt from the journal of Kikurame Naota

"Hurry up, Naota!"

Tokagero - age 14, swordsman and survival expert - does indeed resemble the animal he is named for. Bald, flat black eyes, and an odd scaly texture to his skin (a reminder of his first attempt at the Dragon Hide no Jutsu or so he tells me) filled in the image. Seventy-eight inches of lanky teenager hid in a loose sleeveless shirt of black and baggy pants to match. The boots he wore we had in common - sharkskin, knee high.

"I'm coming!"

Forging my way through the crowded academy courtyard was a little harder than expected but I caught up to him soon enough. Wasting no time we hurried to Nakano-sensei's classroom feeling every passing second in the pit of our stomachs. Nervousness is epidemic when the Genin Exam comes around.

It would help if they told us what the test is ahead of time.

"Can you believe it, Naota? By tonight we will be full fledged shinobi of the Sound!" my gravelly voiced friend bounced all the way there.

Letting a confident smile flit across my face served to relieve me of my place in the conversation.

"Soon we will be performing missions..." he trailed off as we entered the eye of the storm, so to speak.

Fear choked all life from the thirty eight teenagers within the classroom. Students sat mutely at cedar desks locked in private dreams of the ordeal before them. Some saw something glorious, others saw failure.

"So the last of my flock have wandered in. Naota, Tokagero - take your seats."

Nakano-sensei, dressed as ever in his silken embroidered saffron robes, regarded his students with icy blue eyes that belied the rather poofish exterior. Once we seated ourselves he began, waving a fan in his off hand.

"As you are all aware today is the Genin Exam. Only nine will pass and become true Sound-nin."

Only nine out of forty? How is this going to work?

Whispered curses erupted in a swell of alarm as it sank into the class.

"Ouiet." Nakano-sensei's soft voice slid through the noise, a velvet razor cutting the students short "You will each be assigned one of your fellow examinees as a target. The nine who eliminate their targets in the most skilled fashions will graduate. Those who do not pass - and still live - must attend the academy another year."

Another swell of swearing surged through the room. Even the calmest of students our resident genius Isawa Mako's emerald eyes smoldered. That maniac Jin just grinned never taking his eyes of the scroll of genjutsu on his desk. Sotan tried too hard to appear unconcerned and mature nodding gravely with a grave expression.

And looking gravely constipated.

Trust Tokagero to jump up and shout the obvious "When and where?"

Sensei paused as if considering whether or not to punish his rashness - it would not be the first time - "One hour at the edge of Kikuman Forest. Chunin examiners will give you your targets there."

Kikuman Forest...that's where Father trained my cousins and I. That gives me the home field advantage.

"Class will reconvene there. Dismissed."

The students flooded out of the classroom like a dam had burst. Tokagero and I no exception.

"Can you believe this shit?! Even if we take out our target we might not graduate!" wild gesturing accompanied the tirade.

"Calm down. Save your strength for the exams." I brushed a steely blue strand of hair from my face ""We will need it."

Neither of us spoke for a long time thoughts turned towards the test. Towards our first victims.

**Serpent's Tower**

**Home of the Kage of the Hidden Sound**

"Kimimaro."

He turned gracefully, snowy locks hardly moving, hiding all signs of the illness ravaging his once perfect body. Eyes dark with the will driving them focused on me - the source of that will.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Today begins the pivotal play of my game. Today Fate show's it hand."How many years hand it been since I found him? Six years?

Kimimaro shifted bonelessly having discarded mortal motion when the disease laid him low. The curse seal on his chest writhing in response to the chakra needed for him to move. How far the leader of the Five Sounds has fallen.

"Which game is that, Lord Orochimaru?"

"The genin exam is today and my windmill must weather the storm." my eyes burned, I knew, with hunger...the hunger that I had born since he was chosen before me "Do you remember the child spared in the attack on Oto Village? The last Kikurame?"

"I have always wondered why he was spared. The Kikurame Clan is not known for any original jutsu or bloodline limit."

That is as close to questioning me as he has ever come. Is he bothered by the memories of slaughtering the Kikurame Clan or the thought that one might replace him?

Soft hissing laughter escaped my lips.

"You are right in one regard, Kimimaro," I waved one hand in concession "the Kikurame are not an advanced bloodline. His mother,on the other hand, was one of only two heirs to an old and mostly forgotten bloodline."

The Sound-nin cocked his head to one side but maintained his neutral tone "Who was she?"

Walking past my bodyguard the view from the window caught my eye. Outside of the tower mortals went about pointless lives worrying about love or money, achieving purpose only when serving my will. In life or death. **He** had cared so much for them that he sacrificed his life for theirs.

Baka. That is why I will use his blood to complete my ascension.

"My Lord?"

"It is the blood, you see, that damns him. His mother Kazama Jun and her older brother Kazama Arashi, dead now these twelve years." How fitting is it that **his** blood will complete the very act he banished me for? "His uncle was Yondaime."

For the first time since he became mine Kimimaro seemed taken off-guard "You mean..."

"Yesss." a wicked grin twisted my lips "He is the nephew of Hokage the Fourth."

And heir to the Dragon's Blood hijutsus. Skills that will make me eternal. When that is done I will fulfill my debts and erase the last trace of Yondaime's blood from the face of the earth.

Throwing back my head I laughed to immortality, to irony, to revenge years in the coming. To the settling of everything.

**Kikuman Forest**

**One Hour Later**

An hour found not fourty but fifty armed and ready examinees. Ten of whom we had never seen in class. Ten who already wear the mark of the Hidden Sound.

"What the hell are they doing here?!"

Placing a restraining hand on Tokagero's arm before Nakano-sensei silenced him I whispered "They will explain if we are patient."

'They' happened to be the sensei and a dozen chunin examiners who had long since passed this exam.

The genin stood to the side easily identified by the headbands they wore. Almost bored they toyed with weapons as if eager for the bloodshed to come. Three though did not look bored rather they studied several of the genin intently.

Like they already know who their opponents are.

A pretty but hard seeming young woman clad in an odd assortment of bells stared fixedly at the crimson tressed Isawa Mako. Her wild haired friend watched Tokagero, a cocky grin plastered on his face. The third worried me.

Shorter than the others he stood, legs bent and arms dangling in simian fashion. Bandages covered what little flesh protuded from beneath the shapeless gi with it's straw cape. Only his left eye showed and it was locked on me.

"Take the paper from the instructors as they pass but do not read them." Nakano-sense's voice carried easily across the field.

"You ready, Naota?" the Lizard whispered caressing the hilt of his blade - the lion sword Sorrow.

One last check of my supplies - medicinal and otherwise - commenced before nodding.

Let's get this over with.

Soon an instructor appeared before us. He was gone just as quickly with only the profile in our hands to mark his passage.

Sensei raised his hand commanding our silence "You are no doubt wondering as to why several already established genin are participating in this exam. They are new to the Hidden Sound and this is how our great Lord wishes them to be tested."

New to the Hidden Sound? Missing-nin, then.

Pretending to adjust the straps on my pack I scanned the crowd. The Genda twins strummed their bowstrings identical looks of dismay on their faces. Akira and Mako seethed at the last minute addition but neither said anything.

So none of them knew about this either.

"Once the test begins you will have one half hour to move into the forest. When the horn blows neutralize your target. You have one day." sensei paused as if to field questions but we knew better "Now look at the photograph in your hand. This is the enemy."

Dosu Kinuta - age twelve - genin - bandaged due to severe burns...the picture is familiar. The round shouldered bandaged shinobi amongst the ten. One of the veteran shinobi.

My foe stood still staring at me as if he had never stopped. His profile lay forgotten on the grass behind him.

"You have thirty minutes starting...now!"

Everyone broke for the shelter of the trees hardly seeming to see the other examinees. Not Dosu and I. Our gaze remained bound together till the unforgiving tree line came between us.

Within the primordial woods I found my only true friend waiting for me.

"Who'd you get?"

Tokagero leaned against the aged trunk of an oak, one hand resting on the hilt of the massive sword settled next to him.

"Dosu Kinuta. One of the genin. You?"

He flashed a tight smile "Some genin named Zaku."

At first we only snickered but that soon grew into a relentless mirthless laughter. We didn't have to say anything. This is just how it always is for us. An ocean of memories spurred the laughter on. Fights, feasts, training, and trouble shared by us - the Brother-nin as the villagers of Oto had come to call us. Best friends for five years and neither of us might survive the hour.

"I have something for you." we spoke in unison.

Chuckling softly I went first. The item pulled from my pack had the look of a rectangular silver bracket with a strip of cloth ringing the inside.

"Place it on the entrance of your sheathe."

Crinkling his brow he placed it there and returned Sorrow to her home before asking "What the hell is that for?"

"It holds several Kikai Bugs." he actually turned green (what kind of survival expert is afraid of bugs?) "The bracket acts as a honeycomb collecting their venom and applying it to your blade when you draw it. Venom that can disrupt the flow of chakra within an enemy's body. In other words, if you penetrate an inner coil it will block the chakra of that line."

"Beautiful." Tokagero managed to sound both queasy and excited at the same time.

His gift struck my chest before dropping into my hands. A neat stack of a dozen ofuda but these prayer strips are not what they seem.

"Explosive tags." the grin shining on my face said more than thank you ever could.

"I thought you'd like that."

A horn blew in the distance, the cry mournful in anticipation of the killing to come.

"Strike swift..." Tokagero started clasping my forearm.

"Strike true." I finished gripping his arm in turn.

Farewells said we went our seperate ways and began the hunt.

May the gods have mercy on us all.


	2. Blood Paid

Blood Paid

The impact left the tree quaking, my fist buried in the wooden flesh.

"Where are you, Dosu?"

Two hours of searching and still nothing! Several other students had come into sight but neither hide nor hair of the elusive genin to be found. Other battles have already been decided and he wants to play hide and seek!

Moving - always moving - I lost the edge of frustration in the rush of wind and gentle caresses of passing leaves. Landing briefly on a branch only to leap to another ignoring the thirty foot drop beneath me. Coming to a rest on the underside of a limb before jumping to the next tree.

All accomplished through a technique taught to us by Nakano-sensei.

"The secret is to mold the chakra in the soles of your feet to match the chakra of the tree. In essence to extend yourself into the tree's surface and thus cling to any part of it as if you had grown there." Nakano-sensei paused "Any questions?"

No one said a word. Maybe they all actually understood his explanation or maybe it was because he had given the lesson whilst standing horizontally on the tree trunk.

Dangling from the bottom of a branch I stopped to think, my frustration having played itself out in my run.

Dosu...I don't believe you have hidden yourself. Why do that? Unless...

My eyes widened.

He's shadowed me from the beginning!

Releasing the technique I dove towards the forest floor. Quickly tumbling to soften the impact I ended in a crouch with a perfect view of my former position. A single kunai lay buried in the branch.

Readying several of my 'treated' throwing needles I cried out "Come out, Dosu!"

The bandaged Sound-nin shambled out of the brush some hundred feet away, head cocked to the side. Arms hung limply in billowing sleeves hiding any held weapons from my sight.

"Are you ready to play, medic?"

How did he know I'm a medic?

A flick of the wrist and three needles shot for him. A sleeved arm swatted them away with a metallic ting and, for a second, obscuring his sight.

Now's my chance!

I charged hands forming the seal of my newest jutsu - Nezumi, Usagi, Saru, Ryu, Hebi. Phantom lines of chakra ran along the inner coils of my hands as the Joint Freezing Technique took shape. Dosu lowered his arm in time to see the fang strike speeding for his heart.

"Too slow."

He leapt backwards evading the attack by a hair's breadth. My stomach took the full impact of his kick but I hardly felt it. The side kick that followed it did little more damage but it did succeed in sending me on an inpromptu flight.

The flight quickly turned turbulent as I crashed against an oak tree. From my new position the gleam of victory shone clearly in his eye. Struggling more than needed I rose to my feet, letting a slight tremor permeate every motion. The worse I look the better.

It's going well so far.

"You should give up now, Kikurame. Why Orochimaru sent me to test you..." his left arm seized up mid-sentence and dropped slackly to his side.

Probing with his good hand he found the needle I had placed in his chest. Staring increduously at the offending thing he tossed it aside.

"When did you hit me?"

Too calm still and what was that about Orochimaru sending him?

"You stopped my hand from hitting you it's true but you failed to notice the needle." No need to tell him that the Kikurame Clan's healing jutsus - including the Joint Freezing Technique - can be transfered using needles.

The bandages quirked over his mouth as if he smiled "One good shot does not a victory make when you face a true Sound-nin."

Raising his good arm he let the sleeve gather at the elbow. An odd device covered Dosu's forearm in a metallic brace. Small holes braced evenly over the surface gave it the appearance of a wind instrument.

Springing forward more quickly than I gave him credit for he swung at me. I didn't even have to dodge as he stopped half a foot from my face.

What in the hells...I thought before the world turned upside down and my stomach emptied itself upon the ground.

Kneeling, nauseous, and dizzy I could barely hear him talking.

"No one can stand against my Harmonic Ghost."

Tokagero POV

Zaku dodged my kunai seeking refuge in the sheltering arms of an oak tree directly across from me. Nearly a hundred feet and the Kikuman River seperated us but the surprise on his face...

I laughed. Loudly.

"Didn't think you could hide from the Lizard, did ya? You village boys are a little daft."

The wild haired boy just shook his head as he crossed his arms "You talk big for a kid about to die."

"Kid?!"

Propelled by muscles too strong to be human I almost flew across the river. Dropping near the once again surprised shinobi I unleashed a flurry of blows. Zaku ducked and weaved with the best of them but made the mistake of trying to block my crescent kick.

Never try to block the attack of a man who trains with a hundred and fifty pound sword.

The impact launched him towards the tree's trunk, and probably thru it, but he caught a branch in a swift movement. Amazingly, that grin looked wider despite the pain lurking in his eyes.

"If that's the best you can do you should give up now."

Damn! How arrogant can you get?

In the blink of an eye he charged in ducking beneath my guard. With his right hand he planted a kunai in my leg and his left hand went flat against my chest. A soft whistling rose to a keening howl as I was flung back across the river. Frantically I formed the seals of a personal jutsu.

O-ushi, Ousu-buta, Ryu!

The newly formed scaly carapace of my Dragon's Hide Jutsu absorbed most of the impact as I tore a twenty foot long furrow in the loamy forest floor.

What the hell was that? Everything aches like I've been beaten with a hammer.

"You still alive?"

Here's the hammer now.

Zaku stood at the furrow's head, cracking his knuckles and grinning madly "I don't hink your armor will withstand my Wind Cannon."

He's right. I can't take another hit like that.

Breathing shallowly to relieve the pain of my cracked ribs, I stood.

Can't play games with him. He's too good. It's time to unsheathe Sorrow.

Gripping the leather clad hilt I lifted it free and flung it end over end into the air. Zaku's eyes betrayed him, following the five foot blade's flight as I formed the seals of another unusual technique - Lizard Tongue Transformation.

Tora, Inu, Tori!

My tongue lashed out - now over thirty feet long! - straight for the distracted shinobi. He dropped into a crouch beneath it as Sorrow fell into my waiting hands. Swinging low the blade hissed as it sought it's prey. Zaku activated the Wind Cannon against the ground propelling him up and away but not before Sorrow tasted blood.

"I underestimated you." the Sound-nin leaned against a tree, crimson ichor flowing freely down his right arm "You will pay for making me bleed!"

Raising the injured arm in a shaky gesture of contempt he held it palm flat towards me. A metallic opening shown brightly in the afternoon light. A metallic opening in the flesh of his hand.

That's where the Wind Cannon comes from!

Grinning maliciously the whistling noise began to build and then -

"Wind Cannon!"

- nothing happened.

Zaku's eyes widened even as I began to move. Naota's poison gave me all the time I needed. My first action was to fling Sorrow point first into the tree just above the Sound-nin's head. Springing after it I almost caught the Wind Cannon from his left hand. Almost.

Baka. My other technique is still active.

My tongue latched onto a low hanging tree limb vaulting me above the attack and down - forcefully - onto his outstretched left arm. The sharkskin boot drove his hand into the ground with a satisfying crunch pinning him in place. Gripping Sorrow's hilt and ripping it free sent me into a spin carrying me a step backwards. A shock ran through the blade as I came to a stop before the now standing Zaku.

For his part he just stood there with a confused look on his face before falling into two pieces.

Wiping Sorrow clean on his shirt I sheathed and stared hard at the boy I had killed - a boy slightly older than my own fourteen years.

"You fail, Zaku Abumi. I will remember your name."

Now here's hoping no one says that to Naota.

Naota POV

Nausea, dizzyness, light-headed...it's an inner ear imbalance, I thought as I caught another in a long line of kicks from Dosu.

Pretending to hold my stomach, my body shielded the hand seals being performed from his prying eye. The hand seals of my favorite jutsu - the Bodily Regeneration Prana.

O-ushi, Hebi, Uma!

Nausea swept aside by carefully applied, and somewhat limited, chakra Dosu's next blow hit empty air. Ready for the attack I buried a kunai in the flesh of his thigh.

Bounding back he regarded the kunai and myself with an astonished stare. Pulling it free he flung it away before growling at me.

"How did you counter my Harmonic Ghost, little medic?"

A dragon's smile crept across my features - proud and confident - at the last word. One does not train for nearly ten years in medicine and learn nothing about the body's weaknesses.

Dosu swore.

How many tricks do you have left? Your Ghost has never failed you before and now you must contend without it. And without your left arm as well.

It is time to end this.

Standing straight I assumed the stance of my taijutsu style - the Path of Diamond - one hand extended forward, the other resting behind my back, and my feet spread shoulder width apart. Unlike my normal stance, my hidden hand held more needles than most pine trees.

Rushing forward, straight at the discomfitted shinobi, I kept him busy dodging the low kicks and open palm strikes of my style. The other hand kept itself busy flinging 'treated' needles into the four largest trees around the clearing. Dosu never took a hit.

Vaulting upwards I calmly attached myself to the very spot I had been in when he first flung his kunai at me. Four kunais, thrown in mid-air, pinned explosive tags to the needle covered trees.

He chuckled at my efforts "You missed, medic."

"No, I didn't."

Dosu tried to scan the clearing but I gave him no time swinging to the branche's topside and igniting the tags with my chakra. Four explosions filled the air with a hissing gale of needles. This gale lasted only a moment though.

Landing in the clearing to find a wooden log peppered with needles did not rank highly on my favored moments list.

Where did he go? The Body Replacement Skill can only take you so far.

Almost in response a muffled crash came from the brush to the left.

Dosu lay at the base of a willow tree too weak to stand or even crawl. Blood loss from the leg wound and a dozen poisoned needles had done my job for me. Seeing him my elation faded leaving only a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Orochimaru is right about you, Kikurame. You are a genius." he coughed weakly blood staining the bandages over his mouth.

"It will not hurt much longer, Dosu. Soon you will simply fall asleep and..." my voice failed.

"And never wake up? You are too merciful, Kikurame Naota."

His words grew softer and softer till finally his head sank against his chest, eye closed.

I will not forget you, Dosu. May you rest in peace as was denied you and I in this life.

Now for the final task of this Exam. Burying the dead.

Something I have far too much experience at.

Author's Note: I know Zaku and Dosu both have a role yet to play in the Naruto world and they will fulfill that role. If you want to know how keep reading.

If you liked this fic check out my other fics.

For anyone interested in such things I have created a Naruto roleplaying game. It's free and in the testing stages. If you want to test it yourself contact me.


	3. Birds Of A Feather

Birds of a Feather

Two days later twenty students gathered anxiously to hear the results of the exams. Twenty five should have made it but several participants had taken it upon themselves to thin the competition. Only thirteen of the original forty had survived along with seven of the missin-nin.

How many friends did we lose in that test? People we have known since Oto became the Hidden Village of Sound...six years gone in a matter of days and for what? Is this truly what you wanted, Orochimaru, when we made our deal?

"Move your ass, Naota!"

Casting a glare at Tokagero I settled next to a part time friend in the front row - Yukamura Akira, age 14, stealth specialist. He, like all of us, wore a somber mask over the emotions boiling within be it nervousness, fear, excitement, or any of a thousand possibilities.

The Lizard leaned over me ignoring my rather indignant protests "How'd you do, Akira?"

"It went well, Tokagero-san." he flashed a quick, uneasy smile "I heard the two of you had to take out missing-nin?"

He made it sound a question but little else had been discussed by the gossips at the Academy for the past two days. How little Naota and beastly Tokagero defeated a pair of missing-nins. The fact that neither of us bore any wounds besides bruising only made it worse. But the gossips spoke of only two missing-nin dying and only seven are here now.

Thrusting my friend none too gently into a seat of his own I spoke the question currently occupying my thoughts "Who defeated the third one?"

"I did, Kikurame."

One row above and behind the three of us stands my eternal headache - Isawa Mako, age 14, ninjutsu expert and heir to the God of Wood bloodline. A five foot two inch, one hundred and ten pound headache with hair like flame. Noble born and hailed as a genius ever since she arrived in Oto two years past she has done little but aggravate me.

_"Is that the best you can do, Kikurame?"_

_"Try harder."_

_"You will not grow stronger with that lout as your partner."_

Despite her weird attempts at belittling me, or coach me, it's hard not to respect and - from a distance - admire the highborn girl.

"Does that not makes sense, Kikurame? I am the most skillful of this lot, in all the areas needed for the life of a shinobi." a throaty purr permeated her words as it always did. Add that to her recently aquired curved endowments and it became clear why so many boys dreamt of her.

Not that I'm likely to tell her that.

"Do you list your ego as a deadly weapon or your rhetoric?" She's good but it's best if she doesn't know it.

Her lips twitched - in anger or amusement I can't say - as I am the only one who talks to her this way. All of the other boys just sit with a drooling, vacuos stare ...much like Tokagero and Akira are doing right now.

"All one has to do is prove their worth in battle. Then I will treat them as an equal." she turned her back to us as she climbed to her seat at the back before saying one final thing "As you already have."

Nakano-sensei kept me from asking any one of the questions on my mind as I stared hard at the Isawa Clan heiress. Mako has always been strange.

"Yukamura Akira, team fourteen."

Tension ran from him like water, his ordeal over.

"Ichihara Jin, team fifteen."

The maniacal genjutsu master hardly seemed to hear Nakano-sensei focusing wholely on the scroll in his hands.

"Tokagero, team thirteen."

A grin threatened to tear the newly crowned shinobi's head in half as he basked in the glory.

"Daite Reiko, team fifteen."

Reiko - the only girl amongst the surviving missing-nin - blushed as if shy. An illusion of course. There are no shy missing-nin.

"Genda Eri & Genda Mana, team fourteen."

Identical twins...I'll have to watch those girls carefully. Some shinobi I'd be if I can't tell them apart.

"Isawa Mako, team thirteen."

Displeasure practically oozed from our resident genius. Mako hates her little fanclub and Tokagero is fanboy number one.

"Tokagi Sotan, team fifteen."

The swordsman nodded stiffly, trying far too hard to seem older.

"Kikurame Naota, team thirteen."

I let out a breathe I didn't know I had been holding. Why did he have to call my name last?

Eleven disgruntled students filed past glaring daggers. Not that any of the newly crowned genin cared or payed them any mind.

Nakano-sensei continued in their abscence "Tomorrow you will be registered and assigned to your new sensei. I know you will make me proud. Especially a few of you."

His eyes settled on Mako and I. Prized students we may be but all that did was make him drive us harder.

"It has been a pleasure to teach you all. Welcome to the life of a shinobi."

En masse the former students left the classroom for the last time, a new spring in their steps. Only a few left in anything resembling a subdued manner. One of the few was waiting for me in the hallway.

Seafoam, was all that came to mind as her eyes locked onto mine. Her eyes are like seafoam.

Mako studied me, ignoring the exuberant Tokagero by my side.

"Tomorrow then, Kikurame, we will see if your skill is advanced enough to stand beside my own."

What in the hells does that mean?

Tokagero started to butt in but I raised one hand forestalling his comment. There is more going on here than we know.

"We'll see, Mako."

The Isawa heiress nodded and departed before any more could be said. My friend watched her sway out of the school, oblivious to my presence or anything else for that matter.

Of course I watched too but I am much more discrete about it.

"That is one odd girl." Nakano-sensei spoke from behind us.

No arguments here.

"Why does she do that, sensei?"

Our former sensei stepped up next to us, saffron robe swishing softly against the wooden floor. We were both watching him

"I honestly do not know, Naota." an odd expression surged across his face as he spoke "But I do know this - she is running from something and you are part of it."

Tokagero and I exchanged looks before leaving to get something to eat. He complained the entire way about her not treating him that way. Baka.

How do I play a part in her story? Why does she test me and only me? And why does her opinion matter to me?

We will see, Isawa Mako.

**An excerpt from the journal of Kikurame Naota:**

Mother, what would you think of your darling boy if you could see me now?

Ten generations of Kikurame lie enterred in the soil of our lands. Ten generations of healers who devoted their lives to the preservation of others. Ten generations of work thrown away in the blink of an eye. What prayers can I offer? To whom would I pray? The one I slew, the family I betrayed, or the village I sold to that snake Orochimaru?

How did it all go so wrong? You, Father, and the rest of the Clan slain leaving me behind to bury the dead. Oto Village has become a den of snakes under his guidance. My hands turned from healing to killing by my own choice.

And that is truly the hellish thing. Oto Village...Dosu's death...all of these are_ my own choice_. Have I turned my back on what it means to be a Kikurame? Did I do wrong in accepting Orochimaru's offer to rebuild Oto? Should I even study the ninpo?

How many lives could I be saving? How many children would still go home to their families? How many parents would not weep over the grave of a child?

Instead I killed a boy no more a man than I with the very techniques designed to save them.

I'm sorry, Dosu. I was just following orders.

**Training Field 17**

The note said to meet at field 17 at 7 in the morning. So here I am, against my better judgement, with the sun barely gleaming above the treetops.

And there's no one here.

Oaks bordered the glade, shielding it from the world outside. A thousand points of dew glittered on the lush grass spread like a blanket of emerald over the soil. Twelve target stands stood mutely throughout the area, sentinels guarding over the Second Age of Oto Village.

Seven years ago the girls of the village would sing as the picked flowers here. Most likely Mother and I would have joined in. Before the massacre. Before Orochimaru remade it in his image.

"You hail from this village, do you not? The sole original inhabitant?" Isawa Mako stood several yards behind me watching intently with that unfathomable expression.

"Yes. The Kikurame Clan used to rule Oto."

"Why does it not rule now?"

I turned on her not sure in which way she meant this. Did she not know of the attack or...

"You are of age to lead your people." Her voice clear and powerful held no mockery.

Running one hand through thick cerulean hair I spoke softly "Because I made a choice. For good or ill I made a choice that we all must live with."

Her eyes steeled for a moment but she let the issue go.

My turn to ask questions then.

"Where did you come from, Mako? Why here?"

She stood frozen a minute as if debating but the jury apparently ruled in my favor "My Clan hails from the Hidden Village of Grass. My _father_ sought a power to ally himself with. Someone who would see that the slights paid to him were never repeated. The Snake Sennin welcomed us with a serpent's smile."

What has your father done for you to speak of him with such contempt?

"That decision changed my destiny. Forced it down a path I would rather not tread." her words trembled.

Why are you afraid, Mako?

"What destiny awaits you? What dreams may come for you?"

I cocked my head to the side studying her. Never before had I heard her speak like this.

"I don't believe in destiny, Mako, but I will tell you what I choose to do. I will do everything in my power to protect Oto Village from the tragedy of choices made. To make sure it's people are not forced down dark paths."

"Spoken like a true lord, Naota." something new shone in her eyes ...respect? admiration?

All creation came to a halt as we stared at each other. Not a bird sang nor a wind blew. Two noble born shinobi both turned from the path once set before them. Each needing to speak but neither knowing the proper words.

"Hey guys!"

And then it passed.

"Where's the sensei?" Tokagero asked trotting towards us with his usual ground eating pace.

Mako turned away at his approach as likely to speak openly now as the shark for which she's named.

Tokagero...you have the worst timing.

"His question is a valid one, Kikurame." her breath should have been visible so cold was her tone.

So I'm not Naota when he's around?

The blithely ignorant swordsman smiled brightly "Let Naota stay in case the sensei shows while you and I search the woods - together."

The Isawa heir cast a glacial scowl his way halting the next before it ever left his mouth.

"Smooth, fanboy. Next time I'll bring a prybar to remove your foot from your mouth" I paused an image forming "or her foot from your lower parts."

Growling he walked away but I swear Mako smiled if only for a second.

"Arukoto naikoto!"

The croaking cry caught our attention immediately. Mako and I focused on the source, an uncommonly large crow perched atop a target. Our teammate dismissed it immediately but he has never been what one could call overly gifted.

"Arukoto naikoto!"

The crow moved not at all save to issue it's odd cry..

"Do you find this as strange as I do, Kikurame?""

I nodded and we mirrored each other. Both of us performing the same jutsu. Tokagero, unfortunately, saw none of this.

He called back to where we stood "Why the hell are you still watching that damned bird?"

"Because they listen to their instincts, genin."

From our vantage point Mako and I saw the person behind Tokagero quite clearly. Not that much could be seen. An ichiban hat combined with a cloak of crow feathers obscured everything except for the eyes - burning saffron slits watching from beneath the hat's rim.

The Mako in the clearing spoke first "State your name."

"Akamatsu Ryo. Jounin Sound-nin." a woman's voice - like silk on silk - issued from the veiled shinobi "Instructor of team thirteen."

Relaxing, I awaited the inevitable.

1, 2, 3...

"About damn time you got here!"

My friend is very predictable and very dumb. This could be good.

"You must be Tokagero." the calm condescending manner spoke volumes of about her feelings for him "Very loud and very confident. Overly confident for a shinobi who did not even see his own teammates take cover."

He turned to where we seemed to be, face wrinkling in confusion.

"They used Split Body Genjutsu." her words triggered a moment of revelation in the young man's mind.

That's right. We hid for a reason.

Mako shook her head despairingly. What can I say? He really isn't the brightest of shinobi.

Ryo delivered a knife edge strike to the back of his neck, driving him to his knees nearly a dozen feet from where he had stood. Her eyes widened ever so slightly when he rose on shaky legs and turned towards her. The grin on his face was most eloquent.

It will take more than that to stop the Lizard.

"This is the first trial -" she pointedly glanced at our hiding place to include Mako and I "the three of you attack will all your skills at the ready. The goal is to draw my blood."

Three genin against a jounin? Doesn't sound good but if all we have to do is draw her blood perhaps we can pull this off. If we work together.

Tokagero drew Sorrow forth with a hiss and gripped it with both hands settling into the first form of the Dragon's Tongue fighting style, Leopard In The Tree - knees bent and leaning forward Sorrow held upright. Mako leapt from the tree a kunai clutched in each hand her clone disappearing. Banishing my double I dropped down next to Mako though I made no hostile action.

Sorrow dropped then surged across in an arcing slash meant to decapitate Ryo. A pair of kunai led the Isawa heiress' charge into battle as she went into an advanced, but generic, taijutsu set. Sensei dodged every attack as if the entire fight had been choreagraphed.

A strong rapid series of thrusts missed her cleanly by scant inches every time. Mako's attacks never got within an inch of her body. Sorrow went up and over in a powerful overhand chop that buried itself in the soil. Our resident genius darted forward only to trip over a protuding foot sending her into a controlled roll.

How is she doing this? I thought from my place at the sidelines.

Focusing on her movements something odd stood out - at spaced intervals she hesitated as if something was supposed to happen. As if someone should be attacking from a third angle.

Why is she dodging an offensive not present? Unless she has reason to believe there should be another.

And then I felt it. Almost imperceptible in the beginning it had grown in strength with every passing moment. Call it instinct or desire but it urged attack as if it was part of me.

Genjutsu. She used a hypnotic technique when she looked us in the eyes!

"Mako! Tokagero! Retreat! We can't beat her like this."

Reluctantly they complied hopping back to my position, sides heaving. Ryo watched me an unfamiliar expression those yellow crow eyes. No one moved on either side all eyes on me.

"She used a hypnotic suggestion on us when she told us the lesson. A trick of her eyes combined with the fact that her hands are hidden beneath the cloak." I held my hands before my chest not yet forming seals "She wanted us to attack without any plan."

Mako nodded a gleam of respect in her eyes "Have you formulated a plan then?"

"Yes."

"I hope it's a damn good one, bwana." Tokagero tossed in from the other side.

"Just play along. You'll know what to do."

Ryo charged as my hands began flashing a series of seals familiar to every shinobi - Split Body Genjutsu. Mako and Tokagero intercepted her trying to buy me the time I needed. Finishing three other Naotas appeared. Three of the four Naotas present then performed another basic jutsu - Doppelganger.

Now she faced two Mako's, two Tokagero's, and two Naota's.

Let's see how good you are, Akamatsu Ryo. Let's see if you can find the real me.

The two teams swarmed her. Makos one and two slipped into nearly identical knife fighting routines with their kunais gleaming. Two sword swinging Tokageros launched into a flurry of thrusts and slashes known as Cat On Hot Sand in his style as twin Naotas launched into a basic kata of the Path of Diamond taijutsu. She blocked or dodged them all but not as easily as before.

A swift side kick took out a Naota clone as she dipped beneath a savage sword slash. Continuing the motion she drove a hard right hand into the real Tokagero's stomach driving him halfway across the field. Twisting she skimmed past Mako's kunais removing them from her grasp with a twist of her cloak. Catching the last Tokagero's arm she flung him up and over before turning her attention to the real Naota.

Or so she thought.

As I arced behind her back I dropped the jutsu and became Naota where Tokagero number two had been. Spitting a needle into the back of her neck I rolled with the impact and ended in a crouch.

Ryo stood there frozen.

"We got you, teach'." Tokagero taunted from the ground a shit eating grin plastered across his face.

It passed when Ryo disapeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Split Body?" I whispered never having seen a clone that solid.

"No. Shadow Clone." we all whirled to see Ryo standing atop the target where the crow had previously perched "You have done very well. So far. Shall we see what you can do when I get serious?"

We all assumed a fighting stance.

If she's going to beat us at least we'll go down fighting.

Author's Note: I must truly apologize about the length of time between updates but I am working eleven hour days right now as well as working on my novel. Hopefully you can all forgive me. Incidentally my Gaara fic Primal should be receiving a new chapter in the next day or so.


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